W.H. Vanderbilt Residences ca. 1898

William H. Vanderbilt purchased the entire block front on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets in 1879, having recently inherited a fortune from his father, Cornelius Vanderbilt. Architects John B. Snook and Charles Atwood designed twin houses connected by a glass atrium and entrance vestibule, and the famed Herter Brothers decorated the houses with such extravagance that Artistic Houses devoted 17 pages to its interiors upon their completion in 1883. W.H. Vanderbilt and his wife lived in the southern house, while their two daughters and sons-in-law occupied the other.